Importance of National Integration -

Essay (For School/College Students)

National integration means combing all the people of the nation into a single whole. It is
a particular sentiment that binds together all people in one common bond no matter what
their religion, language or history be.
It is strong cementing force whereby all kinds of people live together peacefully and can
identify themselves as a part of a single whole. We belong to India. India is our's is the
feeling which constitutes the very basis of national integration.
India is a vast country with a vast population. If we get united, this great human force
with great resources of the country can carry the whole world with us.
The worst tragedy that has devoured up India is complete national disintegration. It
appears that India is not a nation, but simply a crowd of separate individuals each
differing fro the other, yet living together. The history of India presents a very poor record
of national integration. Disunity is a very old evil. In the pages of history, we find
innumerable instances to show that we suffered indignities and humiliations because of
our disunity. ven at the time of national crisis the whole country could not pull together
and the result was defeat the sub!ugation. We know that a few thousands of "ughal
soldiers con#uered India, because the native rulers could not unite together, rather they
worked against each$other and helped the enemy. The %a!puts, the &ats, the "arathas and
the 'ikhs all were brave people beyond doubt, but they could not sit together. They
fought separately and were defeated one$by$one.
The (ritish regime in India made the first attempt at the unification of the whole country,
however superficial. The nglish education, dress and habits brought down the some
e)tent the cultural difference. Indians for the first time began to feel a kind of bond
among themselves. *nother bond which bounded the people was the sub!ugation under
the (ritish. The bond became very prominent towards the closing year of the (ritish rule
in India. Indians at the time were fired with the spirit of nationality. The national leaders
coming fro different states were so much fused that they forgot all the petty differences of
caste, creed and language that divided them.
(ut as soon the (ritish left India, trivial issue began to raise their ugly heads. very state
turned to itself and tried to look to the interest of its own. New slogans were raised and
the spirit of fellow feeling and co$operation was substituted by forces that began to play
and interplay. The result was that within a very short time after independence the
different regions began to show off their supremacy over others. The disruptive problems
of linguist created series cleavage between the two sections of the people of one state.
The shameful happenings in *ssam over (engali, *ssam controversy and the illegal
demand of +halistan by *kali proved beyond doubt that we have not been able to reali,e
the very fundamental ideal of national integration. The division of the -un!ab over the
language issue to a large e)tent impaired the national unity. * part from this the caste
rivalries assumed a dreadful proportions.
Though today India is a free country, yet that spirit of unity appears to have evaporated
which had made people think that they are one family and one nation. The crying need of
the hour is national integration for a developing country like India. We Indians cannot
afford to be parochial, narrow$minded, provincial and communal because we have a great
mission to accomplish. +eeping our feet firmly on the ground we should bring about the
integration of the Indian people. -olitical integration has already taken place, but
emotional integration is a must for national integration. -olitical freedom has brought in
its wake new forces of fanaticism which threaten to destroy the noble concept of one
country and one people. *ttachment to caste and community is given priority over
devotion to the motherland. %egionalism is raising its ugly head.
There are several obstacles in the way of national integration of our country. The most
formidable obstacles are linguism, communalism and regionalism. India is a multi$lingual
country. The language controversy started with .indi being given the place of official
language of India. In 'outh India people revolted against this and demanded secession
from India. The constitution has been amended to meet the demand of these people. In
the Indian /nion the states have been organi,ed on the linguistic basis. The #uestion of
language is a sensitive one. -eople get very easily provoked over this issue. The linguistic
fanaticism has got to be fought with love, understanding and accommodation.
0ommunalism is an another obstacle. There have been communal riots in the country
before and even after the partition. This is a poison deeply rooted in our polity. India
cannot succeed in forging any unity, if communalism continues. 0asteism is an offshoot
of communalism which is e#ually dangerous to national integration. *nother fissiparous
tendency is regionalism. *ggressive regionalism has gravely underminded the feeling
that the whole of India is the home land of her inhabitants. %egionalism creates parochial
outlook and narrow mindedness.
It is beyond doubt that the threats of disintegration are staring us in the face. If we Indian
keep on remaining disunited in the name of religion, community or language, the country
will go to dogs. If we do not sink petty differences our freedom is in peril. Divisions on
the basis of language or community will have serious repercussions. We must reali,e that
we have the strong bond of same cultural heritage and must not let ourselves fall apart
and disintegrate. We must show to the world that a country with as old a tradition as ours
can holds back personal differences for the sake of higher interest of the country.
Toleration, co$operation and feeling of brotherhood should guide us in maintaining the
national unity of our country. 1et us echo what -andi Nehru said, 2There is no division
between North and South, East and West of India. There is only one India of which all us
are inheritors, it belongs to all of us.2